How Creativity Helps Keep Me Grounded

Exploring creativity, compassion, and the small everyday wonders that make life meaningful.

If someone had told me years ago that creativity would become one of the most stabilizing forces in my life, I don’t think I would have believed them. I’ve always enjoyed making things—crafts, cards, scrapbooks, math worksheets, little projects here and there—but for much of my life, creativity lived on the edges. Something I squeezed in when time allowed. 

Retirement changed that.

Suddenly, the edges widened. There was more space in my days. More quiet. More possibility. And with that came something unexpected: all the things I had pushed aside for years—ideas, curiosities, half-finished projects, dreams I thought I’d “get to later”—began floating back up to the surface.

And creativity became more than something fun. It became grounding.

Creativity slows me down.

When I’m doing diamond art, placing each tiny piece one at a time, the world softens around me. My breathing slows. My thoughts un-clutter themselves. It becomes a form of meditation I didn’t know I needed.

When I’m making handmade cards, I lose track of everything except colors, textures, and the feeling of creating something meaningful for someone else.

And when I’m writing—whether it’s my novels, my blog, or just a note to a friend—I feel anchored. Writing lets me make sense of things. It gives shape to what’s swirling around inside.

Creativity helps me navigate overwhelm.

Overwhelm has a sneaky way of creeping into this stage of life. We have more time, yes, but we also have more thoughts. More ideas. More possibilities. And sometimes that abundance turns into pressure.

The Picker Wheel has become a surprisingly helpful companion for me—an easy, playful way to choose what to focus on when everything feels equally important. It pulls me back from the spiral and says, “Just pick one thing. Start there.” {Try it! Go to pickerwheel.com}

Creativity does the same thing. It doesn’t ask me to do everything. It just asks me to begin. 

Creativity reconnects me to joy.

There are moments in life that feel heavy—health concerns, aging, family stress, big changes, the state of the world. Creativity is my soft landing place. It reminds me that joy doesn’t have to be loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s a yellow flower on a card. A new brushstroke. A sentence that turns out just right. A project that simply feels good.

Creativity keeps me curious.

And curiosity, I’m learning, is a powerful thing. It nudges us toward growth. It keeps the world feeling big and interesting instead of small and predictable. Creativity is my bridge to that curiosity—whether I’m learning about tarot, writing magical realism, experimenting with card designs, or building a themed sentiment library.

This stage of life isn’t an ending. It’s an opening.

Stepping into my 60s has been an unexpected kind of awakening. Creativity hasn’t just filled my days—it has reshaped them. It has helped me stay grounded, centered, and connected to myself.

And the best part? You don’t have to be “good” at anything to experience this kind of grounding. Creativity is not about perfection. It’s about presence.

And in a world that constantly tries to pull us into distraction and noise, presence is one of the most precious gifts we can give ourselves.

What will you create today?

If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to follow along and see where this journey leads.